U.S. economy adds 128,000 jobs in October, unemployment rate up to 3.6 pct

U.S. employers added 128,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate was slightly up at 3.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

An employee stocks dairy products at a supermarket in New York, the United States. [File Poto: VCG]

Job gains mainly occurred in food services and drinking establishments, social assistance, and financial activities, the report showed. Within manufacturing, employment in motor vehicles and parts decreased, the bureau said, due to the six-week strike at General Motors Co.

October's total nonfarm payroll employment is down from September's upwardly revised number of 180,000. Job growth has averaged 176,000 per month over the last three months.

Job gains have averaged 167,000 per month so far in 2019, compared with an average monthly gain of 223,000 in 2018, indicating that job growth has been slowing over the past few months.

The unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage point to 3.6 percent, after hitting 3.5 percent in September, the lowest since December 1969. Previously, the unemployment rate was at 3.7 percent from June to August.

Average hourly earnings for all private-sector workers in October rose 6 cents, or 0.2 percent to 28.18 U.S. dollars, after slightly dropping in September. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3 percent.